Cartels announcers of the castle
HISTORY:
It has three walled enclosures occupying a total surface of 46.000 m2 approximately. The lines of the wall settle themselves directly on the rock and it continues the disposition of the rocks. In the south zone of the first wall one finds the so called Puerta del Sol today very altered. Following the line of the wall we think the gap to the west, other one to the north and other meters later on a door that looks eastwards. These doors and gaps have a difficult access and they are hidden for corners and buttresses of the wall. In the start point of the way that it drives directly to the castle there exist remains of a former door constructed with volcanic rock of which today we do not know its function.
Door of
access 38 º 40 ' 5 " N; 3 º 50 ' 34 " W
CONVENT:
It was a construction of arches and vault of brick with labors of plaster-work in its four walls. Under the north body of the cloister one finds the principal cistern. On the cloister one was finding a corridor and two rooms.
CASTLE:
Between the church and the
Campo de los Mártires there is a zone of access to the castle across a
door with two arches, today very restored. Raising the stairs we find an
elbow formed by two arches of stone that gives place to a domed space and
that is opened for the right with three arches for the court of weapon.
From here we go on to the dependences of the master, existing under its
bedroom a cistern. The stairs of snail leads us to the file, this piece
constructed only in stone and separated from the rest of the castle to
avoid its destruction in case of fire. For another stairs we find in the
first level two stays, and following the stairs we come to what today they
are terraces and in another time they were dependences of the
castle.
It is known this way what was a cemetery of the Order. This name receives immediately after the movement of the remains of friars and gentlemen calatravos dead man in the defense of Calatrava la Vieja's fortress opposite to the Muslims. It had a gallery with arches surrounding the whole enclosure, in whose interior there were the graves of some illustrious prominent figures. All this zone was remaining separated by means of a railing of iron.
Chapel of Nuestra Señora de los Mártires. It was here where in 1217 I move the image of La Virgen de los Mártires who was in Calatrava la Vieja. This chapel was ordered whose remains rest to construct for the eighth Master of Calatrava Martín Fernández de Quintana, in its interior. In the century XVI, the Major Commander, Diego de Cabrera obtained of the dad León X authorization to extract little land of the holy places and to mix it in the soil of the chapel and the cemetery, it would be obtained by indulgences those that here were coming to pray.
HOSPEDERÍA:
They were the rooms of
the persons you do not practise and visitors. The rooms that were giving
to East were occupied from people of high society.
It had seven rooms
to the north and the Corridor of Gentlemen on the south; the above
mentioned corridor was forming a gallery of bricks orientated on the south
where there were taking the Sun the oldest monks and the young men an hour
a month.
CHURCH:
It is placed to the north of the castle and the principal door looks at west. It has a great rosette constructed with volcanic rock in epoch of the Reyes Católicos to provide with bigger luminosity the interior of the church. In the window of the rosette there were turning out to be represented the same mysteries of the Virgin. The interior presents characteristics of Gothic art, though it has some elements of Romanesque tradition. It is clear of three ships with apses that they remain inserted in the walls. The central ship is of major dimensions that wings. Along the history it was prospering of paintings, altarpieces and sepulchers. It had a choir that was occupying great part of the central ship with a dividing grating that was separating the friars of the gentlemen. The ship of the right communicates with the cloister for a great door. To the left side there were joining the different chapels built by masters and major commanders that they it was using as grave and they are chapels of the Commander García de Castrillo, golden chapel, sacristanship and reliquary, Don Gutierre de Padilla's chapel or Major Chapel.
Interior of the church
